It's been a long road for Southern California-bred spitter Hopsin, but determination and hard work has been the key to his success. Following a long stint with Ruthless Records, which eventually led to his album being shelved for five years before finally seeing a release, the rapper left and took matters into his own hands.

He launched his own imprint called Funk Volume, and started from the bottom up. Taking a grassroots approach, Hopsin has accrued a loyal following online, and his years of grinding has culminated in some well-deserved recognition over the last several months.

First, it was Tech N9ne who enlisted the rapper for his All 6's and 7's album cut/music video for "Am I A Psycho?" featuring B.o.B. Then, just recently, he was named one of XXL magazine's 2012 Freshman. This year is off to a good start, and it's looking bright for this rising hip-hop star.

Just a couple weeks before the XXL Freshman cover was revealed, we caught up with Hopsin in Los Angeles to talk about his music career thus far.

In this three-part interview clip, the rapper discusses his deal with Ruthless and where things went wrong, his big collabo with Tech N9ne and how its impacted his career, and being placed in special ed classes as a youth and eventually dropping out of high school.

Hopsin also tells us how he's been able to build such a loyal fanbase by constant touring and online interaction, but admits he tries to stay away from reading feedback because it eats him alive.